Moving to Ireland: a three-part series

Moving to Ireland? The Emerald Isle has lured people in their droves throughout the ages. Some visit our rugged landscape and decide to lay down roots. Others come for the ‘black stuff’ and stay for the culture. Now, on the cusp of becoming the only English-speaking country in the EU, Ireland is cementing its reputation as a top destination for techies.

In the first instalment of ‘Moving to Ireland’, we examine the reasons why Ireland is the smart option for relocation, particularly within the IT industry.

Why Ireland?

Well, why not? The Irish are lauded for their warmth, hospitality and friendly nature. And when it comes to attracting tech talent, Ireland has also managed to welcome the world’s IT giants to its shores.

Amazon, Google, Facebook, Apple, VMWare, Dell, Oracle, Salesforce and Twitter are just some of the big names that have set up shop in Ireland.

We have nine of the top ten ICT companies hosted here on our soil. And the industry employs over 37,000 people. Not too bad for a population of almost 5 million.

Other factors:

• Location

Geography plays a major part in our thriving IT industry. We’re located advantageously between the US, the UK and the rest of Europe, which attracts inward tech investment from USA, Asia and Europe.

Microsoft first established its European Operations Centre in Dublin back in 1985. Nowadays, Microsoft employs a whopping 1,200 full time employees and 700 full-time contract staff. As they say, location, location, location.

• Workforce

Our Universities, Institutes of Technology and nationwide programmes produce a bevy of highly-skilled IT graduates annually. Courses have also been created in conjunction with IT partners such as EMC, HP and IBM.

And, Trinity College, University College Cork, University College Dublin and Cork Institute of Technology all have major technology innovation hubs. Yes, we’re a country of contemporary up-skillers!

• Research

Ireland is also heavily invested in pushing the forefront of ICT. CRANN, or The Centre for Research on Adaptive Nano structures and Nano devices delivers collaborations between leading researchers in material science and industry. These partnerships develop new materials and devices for ICT, medical devices and industrial technology sectors.

Also, the Insight Centre for Data Analytics assembles leading researchers and industry leaders to develop next-generation data acquisition and analytics solutions. You could say we’re a curious bunch.

• Climate

Would you believe our climate is a big factor in global tech corporations settling here? No, it’s not for the sunbathing. Data centres are massively affected by temperature as they emit huge amounts of heat and need pricey cooling systems to keep at optimum functionality. Our unfavourable weather finally comes in handy.

Packing your bags already? Suffice to say, if you’re looking for a career in the IT industry, you’ll find it here in Ireland.

In the next instalment of ‘Moving to Ireland’, we’ll explore why exactly people have been flocking to the Emerald Isle. Have you recently moved to Ireland to work in tech? Let us know how you’re doing at itContracting.

Download our 9-page Ultimate How to Guide "Relocating to Ireland" We hope you will enjoy it! If you have any queries or questions about the eBook, you can email the itContracting team at: info@itcontracting.ie